Warren McClendon opting to wait for Pro Day to workout for NFL teams
INDIANAPOLIS — Warren McClendon was a part of two championship teams during his time at Georgia. The 2021 squad took home the title over Alabama at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the program’s first in 41 years. Then, the Bulldogs went back to back in 2022. Returning to Indy for the first time since the win over the Crimson Tide for the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, McClendon told reporters on Saturday that he will not participate in on-field drills, instead only interviewing with teams this week in the capital city of the Hoosier State.
“I’m actually not going to work out,” McClendon said. “I’m just going to wait until Pro Day. Just interviews and medical stuff.”
The decision to do so comes exactly a month after he did not play in the Reese’s Senior Bowl game in Mobile after practicing all week long. McClendon said that the decision there was precautionary after suffering a knee injury in December, one that broke a 37-game starting streak. It was important however for McClendon to be there in less than a month after he was a passenger in the tragic car crash that took the lives of teammate Devin Willock and program support staffer Chandler LeCroy.
Understandably, McClendon did not want to discuss the accident with reporters as it’s an ongoing investigation but said that teams have asked how he’s doing in the aftermath. McClendon told reporters at the Senior Bowl that he’s been seeing a phycologist, something that continues to help him through the recovery process.
As for his on-field status, McClendon said that being present in Mobile for the week of practice at the Senior Bowl was a great opportunity. The same is true about his attendance in Indianapolis for the Combine.
“Really, it was a great opportunity. I just chose to run with it. It was tough, but I chose to run with it,” McClendon said on the Senior Bowl. “It was a great experience. I had fun, met some great people, hung out with some teammates I hadn’t seen in a while. It was a great experience.”
““I don’t know, 12 or 13, and a couple tonight. Really they all were kind of the same,” he continued when asked about the Combine experience and how team meetings have gone. “No crazy questions that any team asked me. They were all kind of the same, asked the same stuff … Some teams have asked me if I played guard, if I’d be comfortable playing guard. I think I’m a tackle, but I’ll play any position.”
McClendon said he continues to work on his strength and flexibility as he makes the transition from college to the NFL, trying to be a better student of the game as well.
